In the Jagex family you really only fit into one of two categories: RuneScape and Not RuneScape. What is the difference, you ask? Well, the RuneScape category is successful and the “Not RuneScape” category is not.
1. FunOrb Was Abandoned And Left For Dead
As per numerous Jagex posts on the RuneScape forums, Funorb is discontinued and no longer supported. Not only did Jagex abandon Funorb when the service wasn’t as profitable as they had hoped, there was never an official announcement that development had ceased. Instead Jagex whisked the Funorb developers silently, without informing anyone that development had ceased, and moved the entire team over to 8Realms. To this day, the Funorb website still does not display any indication that the service has been discontinued, unless you count that the latest news post is dated 2010.
Funorb still runs today, likely because there are still a small number of people who still hold on to the service and the website probably costs very little to keep running, but it is fully discontinued and has no moderators working on it. To top things off…
2. 8Realms Never Launched…
A second blow to Funorb fans. 8Realms was supposed to be Jagex’s first in-house game developed on a platform other than Java, not to mention Jagex’s first developed game to feature a fully functioning cash shop that offered real advantages to throwing large sums of money. I gave a quick hands-on impression of 8Realms, and while the game was enjoyable, it carried a fatal caveat: regular server wipes. In all, the game was one giant race to the end, and whenever someone made it to the end, the entire server was wiped and everyone started again.
For a game attempting to coerce players into opening their wallets for those delicious gems, 8Realms was set to be a very expensive experience. One with little payout, considering only one player could actually win and then all of your money spent was for nothing. In the end, 8Realms gathered a whopping ten percent of the income needed to stay afloat, and was trashed in beta.
3. Stellar Dawn/MechScape Show Woefully Substandard Community Relations
Having written this website for as long as I have, I am well acquainted with how MMOs are marketed: years ahead of time. Not only are these games in development for years before they are even announced, the announcement can take place two, often three or more years before the game ever hits store shelves. I even had a term for this: hype fatigue, to describe a point after a game is announced where interest wanes due to long development cycles. In the case of the MMO industry, where titles can and have been delayed well over a year, this effect is rather widespread.
When MechScape was under development, Jagex refused to talk about the game at all. Then-CEO Geoff Iddison would give an interview every now and then to reassure the community that the game would be out in 2008, and that the product they were creating was so great, it might even surpass RuneScape. For the length of its development up until the game was finally cancelled months after its intended launch date, not a single screenshot or video capture of the game was released to the public. Jagex refused to talk about more than concepts and vague promises, and ultimately the game was canned (and possibly so was Geoff Iddison) for not living up to expectations.
MechScape was cancelled to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, and in its place Stellar Dawn was born. In their announcement in 2009, Jagex stated that not only would Stellar Dawn succeed where MechScape failed, it was ready for release in 2010. I hope you see where I’m going with this. Following in the tradition of its predecessor, and proving that Jagex had learned nothing from the lack of communication with its community (or the press) about MechScape, Jagex silently worked away on Stellar Dawn throughout 2010, pausing in July to launch the official website with a “coming 2011” banner. At this point, Jagex had already announced Transformers Universe for a 2012 launch date, leaving me asking: Does Jagex even care about Stellar Dawn?
Well, 2011 came and went without a single video clip, screenshot, or the kind of details you might expect from an upcoming MMO (or any other release), and in March 2012 we finally learned that Stellar Dawn has been put on developmental hold so Jagex can focus on their other products. In fact, Jagex’s communication over Stellar Dawn was so poor that the official website displayed a “coming 2011” banner well into 2012 before the game was put on pause.
4. Transformers Universe Is Following The Same Path
I have to say, I have more optimism for Transformers Universe, and I will explain why: Third party IP holders. This isn’t Stellar Dawn or MechScape or Funorb, or 8Realms where Jagex owns everything surrounding the game and can develop and release to their heart’s content. Oh no, Transformers Universe means contractual obligations. Hasbro is the master and Jagex is the humble servant, making sure that the game is developed in a manner that is approved, on a timeline that is approved, and ready for launch by a date that is approved.
I said the same thing with the company being run by investors: Jagex’s previous projects are a fine example that, left to their own accord, the company will screw around for a few years, waste countless millions and the good faith of their community, and eventually scrap the game entirely because it didn’t turn out fun. Nobody wins, not the developers who are laid off, not the community, and not the investors who expect their money to be spent wisely.
Mark Gerhard recently interviewed with Develop Online, where he mentioned that the company was abandoning its “hobby” projects and giving serious focus to its current and future titles. Good. All it took to reach this conclusion was two failed MMOs, one failed MMORTS, one failed games portal, and one CEO.
MMO Fallout 